Recipe for Sunshine Burger

You will need

·         1 cup sunflower-seed flour

·         3 finely grated carrots

·         2 tbsp. finely chopped onion

·         ½ cup chopped celery

·         1 tsp. chopped parsley

·         1 tbsp. cooking oil

·         Salt to taste

·         ¼ cup milk

·         Pinch of sweet basil

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients with enough of the milk so that they can be moulded into patties about 12 mm (½ inch) thick.

Place in a shallow oiled baking tray and bake until brown on both sides.

These patties are good either hot or cold and make a good protein food for a lunch box.

While hot, they may be served with a butter sauce.

For variety add 2 tbsp. chopped ripe or stuffed olives and 1 tbsp. grated cheese.

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How to Pickle Meat

Pickling meat is a process to cure and preserve all kinds of meat and fish, and originated from a time in history when the luxury of fridges or freezers was totally unknown. Today, pickled meat is a delicacy.

There is need to be a rocket scientist to pickle meat – it is very easy!

What you will need:

• 2 kg (4 lb.) silver-side of beef
• 350 g (12 oz.) salt and a little extra for cleaning the meat
• 15 g (½ oz.) saltpeter
• 85 g (3 oz.) brown sugar
• 3.5 liters (1 gallon) cold water
• 2 level teaspoonfuls dry mustard

Great care must be taken when preparing meat for pickling, as it must be perfectly fresh. Wipe the meat with a cloth and sprinkle with the extra salt; then leave it to drain for a few hours – this completely cleans the meat of extra blood.

Meanwhile make the brine. Put salt, saltpetre, brown sugar, mustard, and water into a large saucepan and bring to boil, and then skim the surface. Pour the brine into a large earthenware basin or crock and leave it until completely cold. Put the meat into the brine and leave it for a week to ten days, turning it every day. The basin or crock must be covered during the pickling – a large tray with a weight on top is ideal. After a week the meat will be mildly pickled – it gets stronger every day. Take the meat out of the pickle and wash it well in cold water. Remove any excess fat, roll the meat tightly, and tie it with string at about one-inch intervals. The brisket is now ready to cook.

To cook the meat, place it in a large pan together with whole carrots and onions; parsnips, peppercorns and a bay leaf. Cover with water and bring to boil and skim the surface. Cover the pan now with a lid and simmer for about three hours at medium heat. Enjoy with gravy and rice.

It is not only meat and fish that can be pickled, but a variety of vegetables can also be pickled.

How to Make Stuffed Peppers

You will need:

·         1 onion

·         60 g (2 oz.) bacon or ham

·         120 g (4 oz.) Mushrooms

·         Margarine or oil

·         1 cup cooked brown rice

·         Salt and pepper

·         4 large peppers

Method

Cook the chopped onion, bacon, and mushrooms gently in margarine or oil for 10 minutes. Add the cooked rice and season. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Cook in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain. Fill the peppers with the stuffing, replace the tops, and put into a baking dish with a little water. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until soft at 375⁰ F (190⁰ C.

How to Make Rock Cakes

You will need:

·         250 g (8 oz.) wholemeal flour

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1 teaspoon mixed spice

·         150 g (5 oz.) margarine

·         1 teaspoon sugar

·         1 egg

·         Milk to mix

·         170 g (6 oz.) dried fruit

·         170 g (6 oz.) candied peel

Method

Mix the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Rub in the margarine then add the sugar. Mix in the beaten egg and enough milk to make a stiff consistency. Add the fruit and peel, and place the mixture in small heaps on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes in ⁰the top of a hot oven at 450 ⁰F.

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Tips for Cooking Vegetables

1. Always boil water before adding the vegetables. If you put vegetables into cold water and then bring to the boil, it does more harm to the nutrients than does quick boiling. Use the smallest amount of water possible, and then use this for sauces, soups, and stocks. Do not throw vegetable water away as it contains valuable minerals and vitamins and keeps well in the refrigerator.

2. Don’t overcook. Fruit and vegetables are much nicer if slightly undercooked. ‘Bubbling cauldrons’ of food, especially fruit and vegetables, are not compatible with healthy cooking and must destroy the fibre to some extent.

3. Whenever possible eat fruit and vegetables raw.

4. Don’t add chemicals to your cooking. If you want to keep green vegetables from going white, add a few drops of lemon juice to the water. Do not use salt when cooking. Add the salt at the table if necessary. When spinach is cooked in salted water, it loses nearly 50 per cent of its iron content as compared with a 19 per cent loss when cooled without salt.

5. Eat in their skins whenever possible. Wash fruit and vegetables properly first but do this quickly and without prolonged soaking. If you have to peel fruit and vegetables do not use a knife - you lose too much of the skin and often of the vegetable itself. Use a peeler that takes just the surface off. Remember –every time you peel a fruit or vegetable you are refining it and throwing away some of the valuable fibre which you have paid for.

There is little point baking wholemeal bread or buying bran if you throw away other fibre you have already bought. Potatoes should be scrubbed to remove the soil and dirt, the eyes removed. Then cook them in their skins and eat everything. You have probably never thought of eating a potato raw. Try it. Add some thin crispy slices to a green salad.

6. Cook to retain the natural flavours and aromas of the food. Steam, pressure cook, sauté, or grill. Do it quickly and with the minimum of water of other additives. Do not reheat fruit and vegetables repeatedly as this only compounds the felony of nutricide and further mutilates the natural fibre content.

7. Make large quantities of vegetables like bean pot, soups or apple puree and store in a refrigerator. These all keep well and save time and fuel later when you need them.

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Tips for Reheating Meat

Here a few tips on how to reheat meat with safety:

Always heat meat quickly and for the shortest possible time, otherwise it will become tough and indigestible – the aim is not to recook but simply to reheat. However, cooked ham or bacon which give flavour to so many dishes, are the exception to this rule.

Always cool meat dishes as quickly as possible and put them in the refrigerator only when they are completely cold.

Remember to add extra moisture when it is required.